Thales has reached an agreement to purchase Imperva from Thoma Bravo for an enterprise value of $3.6 billion, according to a prepared statement.
The acquisition is expected to close at the beginning of 2024.
This is technology M&A deal number 214 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2023.
Thales, founded in 2000, is based in Paris, France. The company has 71,221 employees listed on LinkedIn. Thales' areas of expertise include cybersecurity, big data and quantum technology.
Imperva, founded in 2002, is based in San Mateo, California. The company has 1,714 employees listed on LinkedIn. Imperva's areas of expertise include application, data and network security.
Thoma Bravo, founded in 2008, is based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has 272 employees listed on LinkedIn. Thoma Bravo's areas of expertise include private equity investments in cybersecurity and infrastructure companies.
What the Imperva Acquisition Means for Thales and Its Customers
Imperva will help Thales extend its reach in the data security market and enter the application security space, the companies said.
Thales projects that its cybersecurity business will generate more than € 2.4 billion (approximately $22.65 billion) following the Imperva acquisition.
In addition, Thales plans to regroup its civil cyber activities within its digital identity and security (DIS) division as of January 1, 2024.
Explaining why the Imperva acquisition "marks a major milestone" for his company's cybersecurity strategy, Thales CEO Patrice Caine said:
"With this acquisition, we are seizing a unique opportunity to accelerate our cybersecurity capabilities and are taking an important step towards our ambition to build a world-class global cybersecurity integrated player, providing a comprehensive portfolio of products and services."
Imperva CEO Pam Murphy described how Thales' acquisition represents a "new chapter" for her company:
"We admire Thales' vision and culture, and believe that, together, we can deliver greater product innovation and efficiency through disruptive solutions, while helping to simplify the greatest security challenges facing organizations today: protecting digital identities, applications, APIs and data in any environment and any industry."
Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Seth Boro shared his thoughts on Imperva's future:
"We are proud of what we built through our partnership with Pam Murphy and the Imperva team and look forward to watching the company's continued success as part of Thales' innovative and diverse security portfolio."
Thales Releases Data Security Platform as a Service
The Imperva acquisition comes after Thales in July 2023 started offering its CipherTrust Data Security Platform as a cloud-based service. Organizations can use this platform to find, secure and manage their data across their on-premises and cloud environments, Thales said. They also can deploy the platform as a virtual machine (VM), physical appliance or hybrid cluster.
Thales provides DIS, defense and security and aeronautics and space products and services to global organizations. The company offers the Accelerate Partner Network for MSSPs, MSPs and other technology providers as well.
